EU drops push for Arctic drilling ban
The draft keeps climate language but drops an explicit ban on new Arctic drilling after pressure from Norway, which supplies almost a third of EU gas imports.
- The European Union's draft Arctic strategy omits previous references to a moratorium on oil and gas drilling, marking a significant shift from its 2021 stance opposing all hydrocarbon development in the region.
- Norway had lobbied hard to abandon the bloc's earlier climate-based opposition, which sought a multilateral legal obligation to halt all Arctic hydrocarbon reserve development and purchases.
- The draft states the union will "prioritise" renewable energy and hydrocarbons produced outside the Arctic while maintaining opposition to deep-sea mining until scientific knowledge gaps are "satisfactorily filled."
- Paal Frisvold, who heads the Alliance to Preserve the Moratorium on Oil Drilling in the Arctic, believes removing "moratorium" strengthens the climate message, stating "EU is determined to keep fossil fuels in the ground."
- Despite these adjustments, the European Union remains committed to its legally binding goal of cutting net greenhouse gas emissions by 90% by 2040 compared to 1990 levels.
11 Articles
11 Articles
Video. Arctic gas and oil should 'stay in the ground', says Síkela
Video. European Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef Síkela insists the EU will maintain its opposition to drilling for natural resources, including oil and gas, in the Arctic, despite the US and Norway taking a different approach.
EU Drops Arctic Oil Moratorium to Secure Norwegian Supply
The European Union has removed its demand for an international moratorium on new oil and gas exploration in the Arctic, signaling a strategic retreat from its 2021 mandate to keep polar hydrocarbons "in the ground." According to Bloomberg, the revised regional development strategy eliminates the clause calling for a legal prohibition on the development of the region's hydrocarbon reserves. The Norway Constraint and Supply Security This policy sh…
The EU's New Arctic Strategy focuses on the extraction of raw materials and paves the way for others to extract oil and gas
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